translation

noun

trans·la·tion | \ tran(t)s-ˈlā-shən

, tranz-\

Definition of translation

1 : an act, process, or instance of translating: such as

a : a rendering from one language into another also : the product of such a rendering

b : a change to a different substance, form, or appearance : conversion

c(1) : a transformation of coordinates in which the new axes are parallel to the old ones

(2) : uniform motion of a body in a straight line

2 : the process of forming a protein molecule at a ribosomal site of protein synthesis from information contained in messenger RNA — compare transcription sense 3

Other Words from translation Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about translation

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Examples of translation in a Sentence

She is working on a translation of the novel. a new translation of the Iliad There were English translations on the menu. the translation of economic power into political strength

Recent Examples on the Web

Invented at Google beginning in 2000, this new economics covertly claims private human experience as free raw material for translation into behavioral data. — Shoshana Zuboff, Time, "The Surveillance Threat Is Not What Orwell Imagined," 6 June 2019 Director Mike Steele’s staging uses a translation by Donald Watson that turns a three-act play into a swiftly moving one-act that comes in under two hours. — Kerry Reid, chicagotribune.com, "'The Killer' is a fine absurdist introduction to those curious about Trap Door Theatre," 4 June 2019 Card-member spending rose 8% in the most recent period, 10% adjusted for currency translation, and AmEx added about 3 million cards. — Maria Armental, WSJ, "American Express Raises Forecast, as Card Business, Merchant Count Grows," 18 Oct. 2018 After that, a jury will pick a winner—or at least the most plausible translation—and hopefully put the mystery to rest. — Andrew Daniels, Popular Mechanics, "Can You Solve the Cryptic Code on This Ancient Rock?," 14 May 2019 Turkish to English is the only language pair that provides both translations for sentences. — Dami Lee, The Verge, "Google Translate now offers gender-specific translations for some languages," 6 Dec. 2018 The reactions to steering and pedal inputs are almost supernaturally well calibrated; nothing is lost in translation between the driver's requests and the car's responses. — Car and Driver, "2019 10Best Cars," 28 Nov. 2018 For all her mastery of great literature, however, Bell was most celebrated in her native Britain for her translations of the French-language Asterix comic-book series, about a village of Gauls resisting Roman occupation. — Seattle Times Staff & News Services, The Seattle Times, "This week’s passages," 26 Oct. 2018 Near the book, on a velvet tray, were gold earrings and lariats and amulets that chronicled in stones and previous metal both the ancient inspiration and the modern jewelers translation of it. — Stellene Volandes, Town & Country, "Lalaounis Has Reissued Jackie Kennedy's Iconic Apollo Earrings," 15 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'translation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near translation

translational research

translative

translatorese

Statistics for translation

Last Updated

13 Jun 2019

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Time Traveler for translation

The first known use of translation was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for translation

translation

noun

English Language Learners Definition of translation

: words that have been changed from one language into a different language : words that have been translated

: the act or process of translating something into a different language

formal : the act or process of changing something from one form to another

See the full definition for translation in the English Language Learners Dictionary

translation

noun

trans·la·tion | \ trans-ˈlā-shən

Kids Definition of translation

: the act, process, or result of changing from one form or language into another

translation

noun

trans·la·tion | \ tran(t)s-ˈlā-shən, tranz-

Medical Definition of translation

: the process of forming a protein molecule at a ribosomal site of protein synthesis from information contained in messenger RNA — compare transcription